How a Criminal Trial Works in India: A Step-by-Step Guide for Foreign Readers

Foreign readers following Indian criminal cases in the news, or researching Indian criminal procedure, often need a map of the stages a case actually passes through, now governed by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 from July 2024.

From complaint to charge

Most criminal cases begin with a First Information Report (FIR), lodged with the police for a cognizable offence (one the police can investigate and arrest for without a magistrate’s prior order). The police investigate, and if evidence supports it, file a chargesheet before a magistrate within a prescribed period (now subject to BNSS timelines that build in more digital evidence procedures than the old CrPC). The magistrate frames charges if there is sufficient ground to proceed.

Bail at every stage

Bail can be sought at multiple points: regular bail after arrest, anticipatory bail before arrest (Section 482 BNSS, replacing the old Section 438 CrPC, available where a person apprehends arrest for a non-bailable offence), and bail pending appeal after conviction. India’s bail jurisprudence runs on the broad principle “bail is the rule, jail is the exception,” articulated by the Supreme Court, though undertrial detention delays remain a well-documented practical gap between this principle and outcomes, a frequent subject of PIL (see Lexfolio’s PIL guide) and comparative pre-trial detention research.

Trial, evidence and the new Sakshya Adhiniyam

At trial, the prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; evidence rules now sit in the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA), replacing the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, with updated provisions on electronic and digital evidence. India uses a judge-only trial system, not jury trial (juries were abolished nationally by 1973), so the magistrate or judge is both trier of fact and law.

Appeals

A convicted person can appeal up through the Sessions Court, High Court, and ultimately the Supreme Court (via special leave petition under Article 136, a discretionary jurisdiction rather than an appeal as of right), a multi-tier appellate structure foreign researchers should not conflate with a single “final appeal” level.

Lexfolio’s guide to the new criminal laws covers the BNS/BNSS/BSA transition itself in further detail.